U.S. job openings rise in October

Job openings climbed in October to the second highest level in almost 14 years as employers looked for staff to contend with strengthening demand.

The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 149,000 to 4.83 million from a revised 4.69 million in September, the Labor Department reported Tuesday in Washington. Other aspects of the report, including, hiring, firing and quits, were little changed.

Vacancies are increasing as companies, running lean from recession-era job cutting, seek to boost head count amid accelerating growth in the world's largest economy. Continued improvements in the labor market will be needed to carry that momentum into next year and help assure Federal Reserve policy makers that the economy can withstand the first interest-rate increase since 2006.

'The labor market is in good shape heading into year-end,” Guy Berger, a U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Conn., said before the report. 'There's no sign whatsoever that it's slowing down in any fundamental way.”

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey projected there would be 4.8 million openings in October after a previously reported 4.74 million the month before.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, adds context to monthly payrolls figures by measuring dynamics such as resignations, help-wanted ads and the pace of hiring. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen follows the report as a measure of labor-market tightness and worker confidence.

Tuesday's survey showed the increase in job openings was led by a jump at hotels and restaurants. Construction companies and businesses in trades, transportation and utilities also gained.

The number of people hired eased to 5.06 million in October from 5.08 million the prior month. The hiring rate was little changed at 3.6 percent.